


Home

by TheLadyMerlin



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Community: tamingthemuse, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 01:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1327297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyMerlin/pseuds/TheLadyMerlin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spike is feeling lonely after Buffy's return</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Home  
 **Author:** The Lady Merlin  
 **Rating:** PG  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Pairing:** Pre Buffy/Spike  
 **Prompt:** Community: Taming the Muse #399 Threadbare  
 **Chapter:** 1/1  
 **Status:** complete  
 **Fandom:** BtVS  
 **Genre:** AU – Season 6 ficlet  
 **Beta (s):** none, proofread  
 **Disclaimer:** not mine, all belongs to Joss  
 **Graphic:** none  
 **Summary:** Spike is feeling lonely after Buffy's return  
 **A/N:** Ah! I wrote Spuffy … sorta. I don't know how this happened. It was meant to Spander, honest. 

 

The sudden downpour caught them by surprise and rushed them on their way to the small cottage they had taken as their own. Holding hands as their feet splashed through the puddles, wetting the bottom of William's trousers and the hem of Drusilla's skirt. Stifling their giggles as they scrambled inside, leaving their shoes on the carpet worn thin with age. Stealing kisses as they crept up the stairs, not wanting to wake the senior members of their dysfunctional family. Jumping when the the storm boomed and flashed around them sending grotesque shadows skittering around the room and rattling the crockery on the shelf. 

The clap of thunder roused Spike from his memories and he pushed off from where he'd been reclining against the large oak when a fat drop of rain hit his nose. Pinching off the end of his cigarette, he headed off for home. Home? That was a bit of a laugh. The small cottage where they'd spent those wondrous two weeks had been more of a home than where he was living now. He supposed it was fitting in its own way. A vampire living in a crypt. 

He'd tried to make it a bit more habitable, a bit more homey. But with the majority of his funds going on blood, smokes and booze, there wasn't much left for anything else. It wasn't like he'd ever be able to afford to buy any decent furniture anyway. Besides, the scavenging at least gave him something to do to pass the time. 

He snorted to himself as he pushed open the heavy door to his crypt and froze in the doorway, dripping and his eyes wide. He wasn't sure where to look first and tried to look everywhere at once. He looked back over his shoulder and read the name on the nearest stone marker. Okay. Right place … but. 

Spike cautiously stepped inside and shut the door, stopping it from slamming at the last second. He wasn't sure if the person who'd broken in was still here and didn't want to alert them to his presence.

He looked around again in awe. The room was...well, it was … clean for one thing. The rubbish Spike had been meaning to pick up had been cleared. And the couch in front of the telly, while not new, was in much better shape than his old one. Now that he looked at it, he could see the telly was different, too. What the hell was going on? Had he been invaded by cleaning demons? Not likely. He spun when he heard a noise downstairs and sped to the opening. 

Candles flickered, casting long shadows on the rough hewn, rock walls. Someone was definitely down there. Spike stepped forward and dropped the full length to the bottom, catching his intruder by surprise. 

Spike landed with a shout and a thud. Brown hair flew in an arc of colour while the sheets Dawn had been carrying in her arms flew up in the air like a rainbow. Spike couldn't decide if he was angry or happy or relieved.

“What the hell, Bit?”

Dawn stood panting with one hand held to her chest. “You could at least warn a person, ya know?”

Spike looked around himself with his arms outstretched. “And here I was thinking this was _my_ home and _you_ were the one coming in uninvited.”

“You don't want me here?” Dawn pouted and Spike caved. He was such a sap.

“You're always welcome here. You know that. But what do ya think you're doin' out after dark? It isn't safe.”

Dawn rolled her eyes and began gathering the dropped linen. “It's not like I actually carried all this stuff by myself.”

“Okay, right. So ya had help.”

“Right. So I wasn't alone.” Dawn smiled triumphantly and snagged the last pillow with a flourish.

Cheeky little shit. “Fine. But what the hell do ya think yer doin' anyway,” Spike demanded. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful, because he was, but he did have some pride...damn. 

“Do you like it? We had this stuff in the basement just sitting there and I thought you could use it.”

“It's real nice, Bit,” Spike said, admiring the place and looking forward to sitting on something that wasn't going to poke him in the ass or cuddling up to sleep on soft sheets with a warm, thick blanket instead of one threadbare and worn. “Does Buffy know about all this?”

Dawn tilted her head and gave him a crooked smile. “She was the muscle. Well, her and Xander. He helped, too. A little.” 

“Why? Why would she agree to all this?”

“Because we told her Spike. We told her about all the things you did to help us while she was gone. All the patrols and how you watched out for me, for all of us.”

“And I wanted to say thank you.” Spike whirled and saw Buffy standing in the candlelight, a soft smile playing about her lips.

“You want a tour?” Buffy asked, holding out a hand.

Spike reached out and wrapped his fingers gently around her warm ones. It felt right and he smiled again. Now his house was a home.


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you waiting for the next part of A Sire's Family or A Refuge for Loyal Hearts, I am working on it! Thank you for being patient and it shouldn't be long. For some reason this story decided it wasn't finished quite yet and I am a slave to my muse. :)

An awkward silence descended after Buffy's declaration. A silence in which the only sounds were the scuffing of feet and the steady drip of water from a dark corner. A silence in which each of them found somewhere to look other than at each other. And Spike was loathe to break it, relishing the warm hand still held within his cooler one. It was nice, but he also knew he probably shouldn't get too used to it. Didn't mean he wasn't going to savour it while he could though. 

“So...what d'ya think?”Buffy eventually asked, waving her hands to encompass the room and finally realising they were still attached. She blushed and slid her hand free.

Spike smiled and slipped his hand into one of the deep pockets of his duster to hold onto the warmth for a fraction longer. “Like I told the Bit, it's nice. Real nice.”

“Oh. Look!” She said, practically running to the other side of his bedroom. “We found this old chest...thing and I thought it would be perfect for your clothes.” She paused and looked almost embarrassed. “Uhm, you do have other clothes...right?”

Dawn rolled her eyes and hissed, “Buffy.” 

But Spike only laughed. “I don't suppose you get a chance to exchange fashion tips before you, ah, you know.” He mimed a staking motion with his hand and shrugged. Buffy's laughter joined his and he almost could've been happy if he hadn't noticed how hers was a just a little bit too forced and a little bit too hollow. He would give almost anything to be able to make her laugh for real or to make her smile. He sighed and looked at the hulking piece of furniture instead. 

The wardrobe was a dark, rich mahogany, lovingly polished so even in the meagre light of the candles it shone, seeming to glow with an inner warmth of its own. His lips turned up in a smile and he strolled over as if drawn by the gleaming lustre so like Dru's shining hair and the deep, reddish brown colour so like the eyes of Angelus. 

Spike ran a hand lightly over the surface, the style reminding him of one he used to have in his own room when he was a boy. The double doors, above the two drawers at the bottom, opened easily and he closed his eyes as the smell of fine wood washed over him, reminding him of a home he hadn't lived in for over a century. 

“Is it all right?” Buffy asked, her voice soft and so sweet he could just about get lost in the sound. 

“Hmm. Oh, yeah. 'T's perfect. Reminds me of home.”

“Really?” Dawn questioned, bouncing on her toes. “Like home as in England home?”

Spike shot her a grin and nodded. “Used to have one just like it.”

“Cool.”

“That's nice,” Buffy whispered, holding his eyes. Hers were gentle and he didn't dare blink in case it broke the spell around them. He did look down when her fingers found his still resting on the open door and wrapped around them. His stomach fluttered and he swallowed, cursing himself for a fool, knowing he was making far too much of it all. “I..I better get Dawn home.” And her fingers slipped away.

“Right,” he sighed. 

“I'll be patrolling later though. Maybe... maybe, you could meet me then?”

“Love to.”

Buffy smiled and his hope flared bright once more.


End file.
